Learning by Doing: Changing the Face of HIV in India

As a student consultant to WAG CHELSEA, a non-governmental organization providing health services to vulnerable women and children in Delhi, India, I was privileged to apply knowledge that I have gained through my public health coursework to benefit the organization while gaining practical skills and experience that helped me grow as a leader in international health. Through the practicum, I conducted research evaluating the impact and perceived quality of the Indian government-sponsored prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program. In completing my research, I had the unique opportunity to interview program beneficiaries, speak with outreach workers, meet with government officials overseeing the PMTCT program and visit hospitals where services are provided and received. The research revealed previously unidentified gaps in retaining women in the program which will likely result in the citywide retraining of service providers. The second portion of my practicum included an art project in which I engaged children aged affected by and/or infected with HIV in an art project. The children were asked to draw their unique visions of the World Health Organization’s mission of Health for All. Their artwork will be showcased in exhibits in Boston titled Drawing on Experience:  India’s HIV Children and will give an otherwise unheard voice to those children in India dealing with HIV. Overall, my practicum experience has reinforced my personal confidence in my ability to be a leader of change in the field of global AIDS and will continue to guide me as I move forward in my public health career.